Pauley, Merrill make jump from Double-A to MLB debut

SEOUL -- It turns out the Padres had actually told Jackson Merrill, their No. 2 prospect, that he’d be on the 26-man roster for the Seoul Series last week, before the team finished up spring camp in Peoria, Ariz., which at least gave him some lead time ahead of his Opening Day start in center field on Wednesday.

Graham Pauley, on the other hand, didn’t get that kind of advance notice.

• What to expect from Jackson Merrill

It took until Tuesday for manager Mike Shildt to sit down with the Padres’ No. 8 prospect and tell the 23-year-old that he was officially going to make the team -- and on Opening Day, he made his debut as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning, striking out against Dodgers closer Evan Phillips.

“Initial reaction was, 'Wow, this is it. It's everything I've worked for my whole life,'” Pauley said. “It's just what I would call a milestone in the grand scheme of things. Obviously, the work's not done, but definitely a huge accomplishment for myself. Family's always rooting me on and rooting for me, and really excited to get things going. Job's not done."

Merrill at least had the chance to get his girlfriend out to Seoul with him, which proved fortunate, as he cracked the first two hits of his Major League career in Thursday’s 15-11 victory, including a third-inning single and a fifth-inning double that narrowly missed becoming the first homer of the season. The rookie became the third player to find his first MLB knock outside of North America, joining Tarrik Brock (Cubs, 2000) and Yoenis Céspedes (2012, A's), per Elias Sports Bureau.

“[We] were talking last night on the way back about how acclimated the young players are and the credit that they deserve for that,” Shildt said on Thursday. “But let's not underestimate the importance of our veterans welcoming them in and shepherding them in and helping them feel comfortable to be free and just go play. Our veteran leadership has been outstanding."

For Pauley, there was uncertainty as to whether he’d be coming to Korea at all, let alone actually making the team, as part of the competition to fill time at third base and around the diamond while Manny Machado continues to build back up to playing defense.

So Pauley, who’d been drafted in the 13th round less than two years ago, made his Padres debut without any family or friends in attendance on Wednesday, half a world away from them all. In fact, when he called his parents, over and over, to share the news with them, they were asleep -- so he had to hold the news until around 8 p.m. local time, corresponding to 7 a.m. on the East Coast of the United States.

That’s when he was finally able to get ahold of his parents. His mother, Jennifer, a physical therapist, had been seeing a patient and quickly spread word to her coworkers around the clinic.

“If I'd told myself ... a year ago where I [would be now], I probably wouldn't believe it,” Pauley said. “But I pushed through it last year. I put in all the work I needed to. I felt like I put myself in a really good spot going into this year.

"The offseason went really well, and heading into Spring Training, I really just wanted to compete and get to know these guys, get to learn from them. I thought I did a great job with that.”

In a huge first full professional season in 2023 in which he rocketed up three levels to Double-A, Pauley hit .300 at all three stops and led the full-season players in the organization with 148 hits and 23 homers. He was the organization’s fastest riser in MLB Pipeline’s re-ranking of prospects -- and that helium carried into this spring, when he went 11-for-35 (.314) with an .886 OPS.

Merrill acknowledged that he’d have been less surprised at the start of the spring to hear that he’d be on the Opening Day roster -- perhaps a bit more surprised to be in center field -- but between he and Pauley, that’s two players who finished last season with Double-A San Antonio to whom the Padres are making this meaningful commitment as they open the season against the Dodgers in MLB’s international showcase in South Korea.

As Pauley makes the jump that was perhaps a bit less expected for him, there’s comfort in coming up here with Merrill in a show of the Padres’ dedication to letting their young talent shine -- and though his family wasn’t here for the first chapter of this story, there’s comfort for him in the two making this jump together.

"It's great. I think him and I both think the same way -- it's great having someone that you're really close with and that you've been working with all the way up to get to here,” Pauley said. “We're great friends and we're going to continue that friendship. I think that'll help us keep growing together as people as well as players.”